Water, Grasses and Food Sovereignty: Aboriginal Knowledge in a Changing Murray–Darling Basin

This article examines the ecological and social impacts of altered river flow regimes and industrial agriculture on the Kamilaroi people and their traditional Country in Moree and Mungindi, New South Wales. Drawing on oral histories with Kamilaroi women and historical and scientific data, we analyse the decline of native grasses—ganalay, or curly Mitchell grass (Astrebla lappacea), and guli, or native millet (Panicum decompositium)—and the consequent erosion of cultural food practices. River regulation, particularly through the construction of Copeton Dam and levee banks, has reduced overland flows, undermining the ecosystems on which these grasses depend. Deep ploughing, irrigation and cropping have compounded this ecological disruption. Kamilaroi voices offer a critical perspective on the long-term impacts of settler-colonial water governance, lending support for the argument that environmental degradation is a continuation of colonisation. By centring Indigenous ecological knowledge and lived experience, we highlight the opportunity to develop native grasses and Aboriginal cultural practices through a rethinking of water management that honours Indigenous rights and food sovereignty and restores ecological relationships.